Facing The Inevitable

Football fan or not, the Damar Hamlin story pulled at the heart strings of all Americans. As the Buffalo Bills player received medical attention on the field after making a tackle early in a football game on January 2, we watched Hamlin’s teammates and opposing team members react to the scene of their fellow athlete apparently lifeless in front of them. The raw emotion of the entire stadium could be felt even through the television screen.

In a beautiful opinion piece, Dr. Tyler Johnson of the Stanford School of Medicine addressed the shock expressed by the other players on the football field that night. Dr. Johnson derives that in the midst of a game that is known for dangerous hits and frequent injury, the sight of these players in shock in the face of death is representative of our societal repudiation of mortality. This conclusion is drawn from Dr. Johnson’s experience as an oncologist treating patients facing terminal illness.

While thoughts of our own demise or the loss of those we love can be incredibly uncomfortable, the ability to face the imminence of death can sometimes have a way of making the life we have remaining that much more beautiful. Planning for what remains after we have left this world is one way to acknowledge our own mortality while taking positive action to alleviate some of the anxiety and burdens associated with death. In confronting discomfort, we can often find peace.